


Muse To Remember

by Empress_Usagi



Category: Guardians of Childhood & Related Fandoms, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Cupid - Freeform, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Greek gods, Original Character(s), Physical Abuse, Saint Valentine - Freeform, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2019-08-23 23:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16628912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Empress_Usagi/pseuds/Empress_Usagi
Summary: Five years have past since Jack and the other Guardians defeated Pitch, and all is right. But one fateful day, Jack spies a new spirit, a young, skittish girl. A spirit, who turns out to be imprisoned by Pitch, giving him enough fear and power in the few years, so he's back to full strength.Jack has his work cut out for him, seeing at the spirit girl is afraid of everything; other spirits, going outside, and even her own memories.Throw in Eros, also known as Valentine, who seems to somehow be connected to this unknown spirit, but doesn't know who she is at all, and who dislikes Jack greatly.It would make everything much easier is this spirit could just talk and explain, but that would make life too easy.





	1. Nothing But A Memory

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first RotG and my first work on AO3. It was supposed to be an original story at first, but it was taking too much research. I didn't want to drop my OC's story, so I changed it up a bit.
> 
> Tell me all what ya think. I have twenty pages typed (it's been a few years since I've started it), so I'll be able to edit and release a chapter a week.

Jack Frost spun through the air over Burgess, creating a snow day for all the children there. 

In the five years since the return and defeat of Pitch, the world and all the believers were once again safe. While all the other Guardians went back to their homes and caught up on all their respective jobs like normal, Jack found it all boring. After fighting the Boogie Man, nothing seemed to interest him anymore. Nothing was new, nothing was interesting. Even Jamie and his friends were now in high school, and didn’t have time to hang out with him as much as before. During Jack’s snow days, they stayed inside to work on the piles of homework the teachers seem to give them. Sophie spent the most time with him, but often asked about Bunnymund and the others.

Jack sighed and rolled onto his back, trusting the wind to keep him up. There was really nothing to do. Even bugging Bunny got old. North suggested to travel the world and to visit places he hasn’t seen yet. Tooth thought it would be a good idea to learn about the many other regions in winter. 

But they were all places he had seen before. His “cold winter front” moved around the entire world, but they all seemed the same. Nothing was exciting after Pitch was defeated. The other Guardians took care of any stray Nightmares before he had a chance to show up. There was nothing for him now. Just the same old, same old. Snowballs and fun times. The rare adventure was gone.

As Jack gave Burgess an extra bit of fresh snow while the sun slowly made its way to dusk, a moving figure caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He silently turned where he last saw this unknown movement. Landing on the corner of a roof, he sees a young girl, one who wasn’t dressed for the snowy landscape around her. Leaning forward with interest, he notices that the girl is in front of a house of a local writer, who has been in a slump lately. The girl edged towards the window, looking in towards the author in front of a computer. The girl pulled a long thin wire from the pouch on her side and opened the window while the author was in the different room. She slipped in and hid in the shadows while the author came back, confused on why the window was suddenly open. 

Jack was confused. How did the author not see the intruder? He flew slightly closer, to see what was going on. The author turned back to the computer, resting her chin in her hands, staring blankly at the screen. The girl slowly moved towards the author, reading the screen with an emotionless face. She leaned forward and whispered into the author’s ear. That was when Jack realized that the author couldn’t see the girl. 

The girl was a spirit, like himself. After a few minutes of the girl spirit whispering to the author, she leaned back. Suddenly, the author straightened up and started typing furiously, as if she was overflowing with ideas. Jack looked from the author to the girl. With the author finally smiling, the girl also seemed to smiled slightly. She leaned over the author and nodded in approval to the author and her work, before throwing the window open again and floating out. Jack finally got a good look at this spirit.

She was small and slim, like him. Her skin was also as pale as his, and when she looked up, Jack was shocked to see her eyes was almost exactly like his. Clear and light blue. Her clothes were mostly a deep wine red and a dark teal under a long black robe with a hood. Her hair and wings were also this dark teal colour. Jack couldn’t get any closer, in fear that she would notice him and rush away. The girl was silent as she hovered across the lawn, until she reached the sidewalk, where she gently landed, barely making a sound as the snow compressed underneath her feet. She looked around the quiet and deserted neighborhood, as if waiting for someone. With a sigh, she started walking along, hands clasped behind her back. 

Jack closely followed behind her, leaping from roof to roof as he watched the strange spirit. She wasn’t affected by the cold, but she still didn’t seem to enjoy the wind when it blew around her. Whenever someone passed nearby, she looked them over. Either she whispered something in their ear or she shook her head and went back to where she was walking. The people she talked to always looked different afterwards. Jack couldn’t name the expression. 

She wandered until she came to a musician playing in the park. It was late and getting dark, but the guitarist still played to the few people who were rushing about to get home, not caring about the snow that fell around her. The spirit’s expression changed and rushed towards the musician, whispering a mile a minute to the girl. The girl changed her tune, playing something the spirit knew. The guitarist also started singing, giving a voice to the spirit as she slowly moved around, as if wanting to dance.

Jack drifted closer, hiding in a tree to hear the musician. 

“Become as simple as the wind, or as the beasts upon the earth. Learn to control the inner power that was bestowed on you at birth. May have to give yourself a shove, or just step back and take a breath. When you have conquered fear of love, you know that you have conquered death!”

The spirit stopped moving for a moment to brush her eyes before she turned back to the musician.

“Never lose hope because your spirit never dies! You’re stronger than you think if you open up your eyes. Take a look inside yourself and then ‘round where you stand, and maybe, yes just maybe, the answer's waiting in your hand.”

The musician ended to the applause of the few people who stopped and listened, and bowed to the people who threw a couple dollars in her case. As the musician packed up the guitar with a smile, the spirit kneeled down next to her and brushed back the hair that was being teased by the wind. The musician looked around for a second, like she felt the hand brush her hair, but quickly went back to her case. The spirit stood up and straightened and Jack noticed the faint glimmer of tears, even though her face was still the same as before. 

As the musician went onward towards her home, the spirit wandered around the now quiet park. The sun was completely gone now, and most stores had also closed. The spirit followed someone who went up to a vending machine and got some water from it. She looked interested and when the person had walked away, pulled a coin out of a small pouch at her side before pressing a button for a bottle of water. Jack used the distraction to move even closer. He didn’t know why he was following this girl, but she intrigued him. He thought he knew all the spirits, but she was new and different. She seemed to talk to mortals, who all seemed to hear her, but Jack never heard a sound from her. As she was listening to the music and standing still, it was as if she didn't want to, instead wanting to move. She had wings, but she seemed to enjoy walking around, never really using the wings, unless to rush towards someone. 

The spirit walked with her water to a park bench, sitting down and seeming to enjoy trying to catch snowflakes on her hands. Jack could finally see the little details about her as her robe slipped off her shoulders. Her blouse was a deep wine colour, and fitted over her curves well. While the sleeves were loose, and even left her shoulders bare, they tightened around her wrists. The blouse was held by two straps, but what intrigued Jack was the design on the blouse. But it wasn’t a design, it was somehow attached. The rough shape of a tree, with smooth metal curving around as branches. The black metal seemed to move slightly at times, as well as the white gems that hung at the end of the branches as something akin to flower buds. 

The skirt of the spirit was mostly wine red and hung down by her ankles. The hem of the skirt wasn’t straight, but hung down at different levels, some corners dragging on the ground, while other corners went up above her ankle. Several scraps of dark teal fabric also hung down, but they barely went past her knees. A large sash of the teal fabric hung down over her left side, moving in a way that reminded Jack of ripples in a creek. The sash had three layers, adding to the look of ripples. The sash was held up by the black belt that had the pouch where the spirit got her change from earlier. 

Jack was amazed. The clothes were so detailed, while still looking like they were useful. And something about the tree on the blouse seemed so familiar, as if he had seen it before, but he knew he hadn’t. And he could just feel the power that seemed to radiate off it. 

The spirit hadn’t moved from the bench in a while, but had taken to brushing her hair. Most of her hair reached the back of her neck, but a second layer of hair reached all the way past her shoulders, almost reaching the mid-back. She also had a plait of her hair that stretched over the top of her head, right above the bangs that barely brushed over her eyes. Several leaves that seemed enchanted to look wine red were tucked onto the left and right sides of her hair, where the braid started and ended. She took great care in removing each leaf from her hair and setting them down next to her before rebraiding the plait. Once she was done, she put each leaf back where it was before. 

Jack was thinking of whether or not to move closer. He wasn’t particularly close to other spirits, and he had never seen this one before. Just before he was going to jump down from his tree, a neighing sound directed his attention across the other side of the park. Standing at the edge of a large fountain, watching the girl, was a Nightmare. A shuffling sound brought him to look back at the girl. Her eyes were wide with fear, staring back at the Nightmare. Jack turned back to where the Nightmare was standing, but it was gone. He looked back at the bench, but the girl spirit was gone too. The only evidence that Jack hadn’t imagined the entire event was a small red leaf sitting where she was. Making sure the Nightmare was completely gone, Jack flew down to the bench. He carefully lifted the leaf. He had never seen a plant like it before. It looked similar to something he saw once, a long time ago, but he couldn’t place it. Jack carefully placed the leaf into his hoodie pocket, to keep for later.

Casually, Jack looked up, and saw the Northern Lights floating above him. How long had they been there? Without waiting a moment, he flew off, trying to not get in anymore trouble for being late. He was in such a rush, he didn’t notice the Nightmare watching him with narrowed eyes from the shadows.

Jack rushed towards the pole, praying he wasn’t too late. The other Guardians have been meeting with each other every two months or so. Helping Jack “learn the ropes”, even though he knew it was to make sure he didn’t slack off. He only got distracted a few times, and it wasn’t his fault. Jamie and his friends showed him video games, and they were really interesting. That wasn’t his fault. It also wasn’t his fault for the lack of snow days in certain places. The other seasonal spirits mess up his weather sometimes. So it wasn’t his fault that the winter was warmer and drier than normal on one side of the country, and the blizzard of the century on the other. He had planned for both coasts to get the same amount, but the other spirits moved his weather to dump everything on one area. 

He slowed down and flew in through the open window that North left open for him. 

“Frostbite! You’re late!”

So much for hoping.

“Sorry, Bunny, I got distracted.” Jack landed on the wooden floor a few feet away from where Bunnymund was leaning up against a pillar. He walked around him and lightly blew some cold air over his ears.

“Oi! I told you to stop freezing my ears!” Bunny turned towards him with a scowl.

“I did stop freezing them,” Jack replied back with an innocent smile, holding his staff over his shoulders. “You never said anything about the cold. And that could have come from the open window.”

Before Bunny could retort, North had come in with Toothiana and Sandy.

“Bunny! Jack! You should not argue so much!” 

“You and Bunny do it often enough.” Jack mumbled, only loud enough so Bunny can hear it and glare at him.

“So, any new news?” North asked, before the two could start arguing again.

“Nothing new for me. My faeries reported seeing a single Nightmare when they were collecting teeth in Greece, but by the time I got over there with Sandy, there was nothing there.”

“Huh,” Jack mumbled, catching the attention of the others.

“What is it Jack?” Tooth asked.

“I was in Burgess, giving them just enough for a small snow day, when I saw a Nightmare in the park.”

“Did you take care of it?” Bunny asked.

Jack paused, “Well, no, I-”

“What the hell were you doing then? Wait, let me guess, you were distracted? At least Tooth has an excuse since Greece is far away-”

“That’s where I saw it!” Jack interrupted, sending confused looks to all the Guardians.

“Jack?” North questioned, bringing Jack’s outburst to his attention.

He paused, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I saw...A girl at the park. I followed her from a few streets down actually.”

“You were stalking a girl?” Bunny asked, giving Jack a look of disbelief.

“No! I...I think she was a spirit...But I never saw her before. She was able to communicate to people, even though they didn’t see her. She was resting on this bench when I saw the Nightmare show up. She was gone in a second, and then, so was the Nightmare.”

“Ya sure you didn’t imagine her up?”

“That’s the thing,” Jack pulled the leaf out of his pocket, “She had a lot of these leaves in her hair. I just now remembered why they look familiar. I saw similar flowers in Greece, a long time ago.”

“Greece?” North carefully took the small leaf from Jack and looked at it.

“I just don’t know from where in Greece.”

“Jack, there’s only one spirit that comes from Greece.” Tooth added.

“Who?”

“Eros.”

“Ah! He might know plant!” North exclaimed.

“Wait, Eros, as in Cupid? Like, Saint Valentine’s Day?” Jack nervously asked.

“Yes,” Tooth answered him.

“Can you not call him when I’m around? Maybe when I’m far away?”

“What’s wrong, Frostbite? Scared of him?”

Sandy turned to Jack with a question mark floating above his head.

“He hates my guts! More than Bunny used to hate me! I try and stay as far away from him as possible!”

“I can’t imagine why,” Bunny muttered, sarcasm dripping off his voice.

“He doesn’t like me freezing his holiday! I tell him it’s not my fault-”

“And yet you still do it, year after year.”

The Guardians all turned to the new voice, as Jack froze. A young man, leaning against a pillar, half hidden in the shadows spoke up.

“I ask for one day a year, and I get a blizzard. I know it’s no Christmas, but would it kill you to at least let the snow or rain stop for one freaking day! How in the world, am I supposed to spread love and proposals, when you make it so they can’t even step out of their houses?”

Jack slowly started inching his way behind Tooth as the man came forward. He was dressed in a short sleeved, dark red, loose tunic that ended above his knees. He wore a black, long sleeved shirt and dark gray pants underneath. High black boots matched his black, curling hair. He wore his bow and quiver full of arrows on his back, made of a worn leather that matched his belt. His right hand had a dark red, fingerless glove, while his left hand had a small gold ring, one with a light blue stone on it. His piercing green eyes stared down Jack. 

“How did you get here so fast?” Jack questioned.

“North called me about some leaf from Greece. Speaking of, nice to see you again, Nickolas. Been a while.”

“You as well, Eros! Been half a century since we got together!” North clapped Eros on his back with a laugh, which nearly made the smaller man fall over. “We catch up more!”

“I don’t think my back could take it,” Eros smiled in pain.

“Seems I’m not the only one whose holiday gets ruined by you,” Bunny glared at Jack, who shrugged nonchalantly. 

“But it doesn’t get ruined as often. You’re lucky to have Spring on your side.”

“Ah, deal with it, Fluffwing.”

Eros’ white wings, which had been neatly tucked against his back so far, fluffed out in anger, before he smoothed them down. “Do not call me that, Aster! It’s not my fault the humans can’t imagine me with my golden wings anymore. Before I decide to make you fall in love with some tree, where is this leaf you had for me, North?”

North held the small leaf out to Eros, who examined it in his hand. His smirk, which had been on his face, slowly faded to a frown, and all the Guardians noticed hurt in his eyes as he looked back up. 

“Where did you get this?”

“Eros-”

Eros took a threatening step forward. “Old man, I will not ask again. Where. Did. You. Get. This.”

“Jack found it.”

Eros turned towards Jack and rushed forward, picking up the shorter spirit by his collar. “Now, Frost!”

Jack’s eyes widened. “A spirit, a young girl I saw in Burgess! I don’t know her name, I didn’t talk with her!” 

“Describe her!” When Jack didn’t answer, Eros shook him. “Now!”

“Okay! She was young! Maybe around thirteen or so! Really pale, clear, light blue eyes. Dark teal hair!”

“Did she have wings? Did she?”

“Yes! Small ones. Dark teal, like her hair!”

Eros’ face softened with sadness as he carefully set Jack back down. “So it wasn’t her...” He fell back into a chair and brushed his hair away from his face with a sigh.

“Eros?” Tooth carefully floated towards him. “Who do you mean?”

A tired looking Eros held up the leaf in his hand. “This leaf is from a type of plant only found on Mount Helicon, only in the Valley of Muses. A very close companion of mine knew how to enchant leaves like this. She didn’t teach many the same trick. But she had blonde hair and golden eyes.”

“But why did ya ask about the wings?” Bunny carefully asked, to not anger Eros again.

“Her mother had blue eyes, clear skin, and dark teal hair. She was a very close friend of mine. We stopped talking after...what happened all those years ago...”

“What happened back then?” Jack whispered.

Eros looked over at Jack. No malice in his eyes towards the boy.

“Let me tell you a little history, Frost.”

~

Centuries before you were born, there was the Ancient Greek Empire. And with the empire, there was the ancient Greek Gods. I was one of them, along with some even you should know, like Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Ares. We ruled the humans justly. There were some instances of...turning people in birds, spiders, and Zeus’...Zeus being Zeus, but things were fine. I myself had a beautiful wife, Psyche, and we spent many of our days with our daughter, Volupta. 

We Gods had powers, like you Guardians do. Most of the time, our powers corresponded with what we were the god of. Hephaestus could control volcanoes when he felt like it, and Apollo sometimes brought the plague around. But we were much we powerful than just that. Athena could transform people into spiders or hideous beasts. Artemis turned a boy into a girl on one occasion that I know of. After a while, we stopped using our magic as much. Our stories were told, and they were kept by those called the Muses.

The Muses were the daughters of my dear friend. Nine Muses, nine sisters. I guess, in our weird family tree, we were some sort of cousins. We were family, at the very least. Apollo, the God of music, art, knowledge, poetry, and a list of others things, because he was a show-off, became the leader of the Muses. He directed them, and of course, a few children of the Muses from Apollo come along.

It’s a thing the Gods do. We get bored.

One of the nine became the Muse of lyric poetry, and because lyric poetry expresses feelings, and most lyric poetry is romantic or erotic, she became a follower of mine. Her name was Erato. And she soon became a second daughter to me. Any time she did not spend with me, or at the Valley of The Muses with the others, she flew around to make my job easier. She would inspire the young men to create romantic poetry for the girl they fancy. No arrows needed then.

~

“So what happened? If you were all so powerful and mighty, why are you the only one left?” Jack interrupted. He was sitting on the floor in front of Eros, listening intently to “storytime”.

“I was getting to that, so shut up and pay attention.”

~

Humans are fragile and indecisive creatures. We tried our best to keep them in line, and the Muses spent lots of time going around to remind people of the stories, and reminding them we can still turn them into a fish or something. But, people change. They believe new things, or they stop believing completely.

Sound familiar? Gods, like Guardians, need people to believe in them. Offerings and belief gave us our tremendous power. We didn’t expect anything to change really. But some of us, the minor immortals and personifications, began getting very weak and sick. 

Around three hundred years before common era, is when we finally decided to admit something was wrong. Our temples were being destroyed and we were being shunned as something that was unaccepted at the time. New faith came in, and we were being thrown out. My daughter was one of the first few. We don’t die. We just cease to be. Vanish into thin air. Sometimes our body is around long enough to mourn before it vanishes. Psyche searched for her, not believing what was happening, before she too got sick, and vanished in my arms. Erato became my only companion. She tried to keep enough belief in us. But after a century or two, when some of her other sisters had already vanished, she was too weak. She fell out of the sky, and even though I tried to get her back to the Valley as quick as I could, I was too late. 

I walked into the Valley alone. It was the first time I had visited the Muses’ home in centuries. And I gave them the news that their sister was gone. Clio, the Muse of history, immediately went inside their home to mourn. I thought I heard someone crying in the house later. Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy, went to seek out her twin, Thalia, since comedy and love went hand-in-hand. It was hard for all the sisters, but then, I also had to tell their mother. For her to lose another daughter, and for her to not comfort her daughter in her final moments...She finally cried for her children. 

After a while, I also lay down and had my last moments. It was frightening, actually. For my last moments, Clio, the last Muse alive, kept me company. I was starting to go blind, and before I was completely gone, I heard someone singing the same song Erato always sang. In my final moments, I thought it was her telling me to join her. But now, I think Clio found someone to sing for me. 

It was dark for a long time. It was like going to sleep. You have an idea of how long you slept, but you weren’t sure. When I woke up, I was like this. My golden, beautiful wings had turned into these fluffy things. I found out I was brought back to life because of some Saint that took my place. Being brought back as a personification of a part of what killed me. A sick sense of humour. At the very least, I can be thankful I didn’t come back as the Renaissance version of me.

I thought that maybe another God had come back as well, but even though we were somehow remembered, in paintings and writings, even long after the last God died, being remembered isn’t the same as being believed in. Until now, I haven’t seen any proof or evidence that any of us even existed, or if it was all a dream I had. Until today, with this one tiny leaf.

~

Eros sighed when he finished his story, and leaned back in his chair. 

Jack and the other Guardians were silent. While the other four knew what had happened, they had never heard Eros tell the whole story in one sitting before.

“But what does this leaf mean, other than you really did exist in a past life?” Tooth finally asked, breaking the silence.

“In all honesty, I don’t know. But I know someone out there has power from the Muses, maybe one of them survived. May I keep this, Frost? I’ll forgive you for this year’s blizzard,” Eros asked, holding up the small leaf.

“Huh, sure. Will you forgive me for last year’s too?”

“No.”

Jack shrugged, getting to his feet. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“Well, while it was nice to catch up with you all, spreading love is a full time job. Got to make sure not too many young men’s proposals are turned down.” Eros got up from his chair and stretched out his arms behind his back, adjusting his quiver of arrows. Just before he flew off, he paused and looked backed at the group. “If it’s not too much to ask, if you see this spirit again, or if you find some more clues about her, would you please tell me?”

“Of course, Eros,” North replied, as Sandy nodded as well. 

Eros, seemingly satisfied with the response, jumped out the open window that Jack used, before he opened his large wings, and disappeared into the night.

 

A week had passed since Jack heard Eros’ story. The story was in the back of his mind, and he didn’t think about it often, unless he flew over the park in Burgess, where he first saw the spirit. He also hasn’t been able to see the spirit for a while. All the people she visited still were going more than fine. The author was still writing, while the musician in the park was still singing that song. 

One evening, Jack heard a strange sound. It sounded akin to a flute, but it was slightly off. It started off as sad, but became playful for a moment, as if someone was practicing. Jack followed the sound to a heavily wooded area where a small creek ran through. Jack slowly moved between the trees, careful not to step on any branches to alert whoever he was hearing.

In a small clearing, Jack finally found the musician, resting on a rock, and dangling her feet just above the water. She was wearing the long black robe that covered her whole back, and even had on the hood that covered her hair.

"Excuse me?"

Jack's announcement of his presence made a sharp note come from the flute, as if the player had taken a sharp breath in. She turned and tried to run backwards at the same time, but the rocks in the bottom of the creek were slippery, and she fell in.

Jack flinched, but moved forward to help her up, but when he took one step forward, the spirit tried to scramble backwards. He could now clearly see the drenched spirit in front of him was the same from earlier, who inspired the writer and musician, but she was dressed differently. She wore a black shirt that covered part of her neck and went up her arms. A short skirt, also black, with hints of red, was held up by the same belt she used last time to carry money. Black leggings ended with red wrappings, and black shoes that held a hint of the teal blue she used to wear were tied to her belt. She also wore the same teal necklace over the shirt. But over everything, was the black robe, which seemed darker than the blackest night. The inside was a wine red colour, and all edges were a faint silver.

"I'm sorry, please let me help you up."

Jack stretched out his arm, but the spirit shook her head, still trying to get away. Jack looked down at his staff and set it aside behind him. He also kneeled on the ground, to be at eye level.

"I won't hurt you. I want to help you."

The spirit froze, and slowly looked up at Jack. Her eyes still held fear, but she didn't try to run. Jack reached out again, slower. After a minute, the spirit slowly reached out as well with her right hand, but suddenly stopped. Jack noticed this hand was wrapped up in some gauze, and the skin he did see seemed discoloured. She took her hand slowly back and grabbed his hand with her left hand, which also seemed a bit discoloured, but not as badly. He was surprised how warm her hand was, considering she was playing out here without gloves, and had then fallen in a creek. Jack pulled her out of the creek, and let go of her hand, which she quickly took back.

"Can you talk?" The spirit violently shook her head. "Okay, okay, that's fine. I think you should take off your robe though, to let it dry."

The spirit slowly took of the robe, and hung it over a tree branch. As she did so, Jack noticed the small flute in her hands, dripping with water. "Um, is your instrument okay? Is it filled with water?"

She looked down at the flute and tilted her head.

"I can fix that, if you want. I can get all the water out."

The spirit slowly reached out with the flute, still keeping several feet away from Jack. After he had the flute in his hands, he made a small gust of wind go through it, making sure not to make it too cold. The wind made the flute emit a low hum, which made the girl's eyes widen. Jack handed it back.

"It should be fine now. Do you like playing?"

As if to answer him, the girl put the flute to her lips and started playing. It wasn't a tune Jack knew, but he still felt moved by it. It was simple and calming, and Jack found himself sitting down on a nearby rock to listen. The spirit paused at times, as if to let another instrument she heard take part. Even though one of her hands was bandaged, she didn't let that alter her song in any way. Jack saw the bandage wasn't wrapped as tightly around her fingers, allowing for free movement, though Jack thought it might be painful. She stopped her song, and Jack clapped softly, making her jump a bit, as if she had forgotten he was there.

"That was beautiful. You are very good."

She shook her head, a sad look momentarily going across her face.

"No? Do you think you're not good?"

A nod.

"You just need to practice then. Practice makes perfect."

The spirit nodded again, and a silence paused between them.

"So, can I ask you something? What's your name?"

She froze in fear again, and almost made to run again, before Jack stopped her.

"I swear, I won't tell anyone. But, I want to know your name."

The girl paused for a moment, as if thinking. She then bent over and picked up a stick. She put the end in the ground and slowly wrote out a word,

Μνήμη

Jack looked at it and tilted his head. "Um, so, is there an English translation? I honestly don't pay attention to other languages very much."

She paused again before writing a second word underneath the first.

Memory

"Memory, huh? That's a unique name. I like it. And like I said, I won't tell anyone."

Memory nodded and looked up at the sky. It was slowly becoming dawn. She grabbed her cloak off the branch it was drying on and quickly erased her name from the dirt.

"Wait, Memory! Can we meet again? Please?"

She paused, and glanced up at Jack's eyes. The matching eyes connected for the first time, and slowly, she nodded.

"Right here. I'll wait for you right here."

With another nod, Memory rushed out of sight. Jack sighed and picked up is staff again. Something caught his eye before he was able to take off though. Memory's little flute was still sitting on the rock where she placed it before writing her name. He picked it up, and tried to make a tune come from it, but failed. He looked to where he last saw the running figure, and saw no trace. 

"I'll just have to give it to her later."


	2. Who Are You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While the first chapter was very long, the other's will be much shorter. I don't write as fast as I used to, and there's always something else to do.  
> I live in my own apartment, have work, and I'm planning for an international trip in a few month, so I need to finish my cousin's gifts...

"Memory? Are you here?" Jack called out towards the darker woods. "It's Jack."

Jack had continued to meet his secret friend a few times a week, each time bringing something new for Memory to examine and play with. Jack had been shocked at the number of things Memory had never examined closely before, and watched as her normal blank expression changed slightly. He noticed she played with these new toys like a child would, often very carefully, as if they might break, before examining it from all angles.

Memory loved playing with the things Jack would bring. He swore that every now and then, Memory's eyes would soften when looking at the nesting dolls or while looking up at the moon through some glass bottles of whatever drink Jack decided to bring to share. Though she always sat far away from Jack, as though she still didn't trust him for some reason.

This time though, Jack knew she would like her gift. Last time, Jack had started rambling on about some colouring books North was making, when Memory stopped him by tapping him with her 'talking stick' and drawing a question mark on the ground.

"What? Do you mean you don't know what colouring books are?"

Memory raised her hand and moved in a 'kind of' motion.

"Have you ever drawn in a colouring book?"

Memory shook her head.

But now, Jack had found a good colouring book from the workshop at the Pole and borrowed it, along with drawing utensils. 

"Oh, there you are Memory. A little late, aren't you?"

Memory nodded and shrugged out of her black robe, carefully folding it and setting it down on a rock. 

"Doesn't matter though. I got you something!" Jack held out the wrapped colouring book to Memory. She shrunk back for a moment, staring at the gift before looking up at Jack. "Consider it an early Christmas gift. Go on, unwrap it."

Memory carefully unwrapped the gift as Jack watched, crouched on his usual rock perch. He smiled as he saw her eyes go wide at the sight of the colouring book. Without saying another word, he pulled out a pencil bag from his pocket and opened it, showing the amount of pens he had gathered. "You want to draw?"

Memory carefully took the bag, as if she was handling glass, and placed it on the ground next to her. She slowly opened the book and looked through the different designs. She soon picked out one that looked like stained glass, and got to work, pulling out a teal pen which wasn't quite as dark as her hair and wings, which were twitching in excitement. 

They stayed in each other's company for a while, Jack messing around with a tin whistle Jamie gave him to annoy the other Guardians with, but something Memory seemed to enjoy listening to. After he had given back her flute after their first meeting, he also showed her his tin whistle. She was able to play an amazing tune the first time she tried it out, and even showed Jack how to play it better. He wasn't very good, but was slowly learning. 

He watched her careful scribbling for a bit, and decided she was as comfortable as she has ever been with him. Just as Jack was about to start playing again, a sharp whinny and the sound of a far-off sleigh made them both jump up. Jack looked over and saw a Nightmare dart into the shadows. He was about to give chase when a whimper made him freeze.

Memory was staring where the Nightmare was, eyes wide with fear. Jack had never heard her make even a gasp of noise, so the whimper startled him.

"Memory? Are you okay?"

The sound of the sleigh getting closer made Jack look away for a moment, but when he looked back, the girl was gone. The only evidence that was left was the half finished colouring on the ground, and the fact the teal pen was gone.

He grabbed the colouring book and shoved the bag of pens into his pocket before quickly darting off in a gust of wind, following the trail of the Nightmare as best he could. He found himself in the middle of the street, the trail cold. Just as he was about to go find the sleigh, he found himself surrounded by Nightmares on all sides.

Jack froze and stood in a defensive position. The Nightmares surrounded him slowly and menacingly. He kept his staff in front of him, daring any of the Nightmares to come closer. Before any of them could attack, the sound of bells drew all of them to look upwards. The Nightmares around him drew back, letting there be enough room for the sleigh to land, and the other four Guardians, plus one, jumped out, weapons ready for a battle.

"Jack! Are you alright?” North called, holding up his twin swords.

"I am, but how did you get here so fast?"

"The reason would be me, Frost. I wanted to check something with you. Seems as that was a good idea now." Eros was with them as well, wearing red battle armour over his chest, shoulders, and slightly past the edge of his tunic. A sword was also hanging from his belt now. "One of the many things that can beat fear, no matter what, is love. Good thing you have me to help."

"Why are there so many Nightmares though? Even Pitch shouldn't have this many, even after five years," Tooth questioned, grabbing a rapier from the sleigh.

"Now, you severely underestimate me, Tooth Faerie. I'm hurt."

Pitch materialized from the mass of Nightmares, standing in front of the ready Guardians.

"You do speak the truth however, I shouldn't have this many," Pitch motioned around him. "But you see, I have had help."

"Who would ever help you?" Bunny asked.

Pitch laughed, sending a shiver up Jack's spine. 

"Just someone who couldn't say no to me. She's my little fear creator. Come here."

From out of the shadow Pitch conjured, stepped out a small robed figure with a hood on. A long staff with a sickle moon blade, all pitch black, was held in her shaking hands. Even though her hood was on, Jack saw clear blue eyes peeking out, staring straight ahead. Without meaning to, a small whisper escaped him.

"Memory."

Pitch immediately turned to him. "What was that, Frost? Memory?" He turned sharply to the cowering figure at his side. "So, you have been sneaking out behind my back. How dare you disobey me?" 

Pitch grabbed the hood of the girl and yanked it back, making her whimper again as her hood and some of her hair was ripped away. "Come look, Guardians. This is your enemy. She is the reason why I am so powerful now. Just a little girl."

Jack's grip on his staff tightened. But before he could rush Pitch, someone else stepped forward.

"Mnemosyne? Eínai sas?"

Memory's eyes snapped open at the sound of the name Eros whispered. She looked up at him, before turning her eyes down again.

"Is that Cupid? You think you found someone you knew? Perhaps in a past life? Whoever she once was, she is mine now."

"Let her go, Pitch!" Jack yelled out.

"You want me to let her go? Fine." Pitch lifted Memory by her hood slightly and threw her down on the ground. "But she is still mine. She can't leave me. Isn't that right, my little lady?"

Memory struggled to get up, shying away from all the Nightmares before cowering next to Pitch again. Jack couldn't bear to see the same girl who seemed so much like a child be so afraid.

"Pitch, who is this girl?"

"Ah, I found her by the taste of her fear alone. She's just another immortal child. But a child none of you Guardians decided to protect. After you defeated me, I went back to find her. I knew she was out there, and picked her up. She was in a deep sleep, reliving her nightmares day after day. I saved her from her four hundred fifty year sleep, didn't I?"

Pitch looked down at Memory, who was still shaking. After a second pause, Pitch's smirk turned to a frown. "You will answer me, child. Now!"

Pitch's shadows dove down on Memory, whose whimpers increased for a moment before nodding.

"There, see? If you listened, I wouldn't have to give you nightmares."

Anger flashed in Jack. Before he, or anyone else could stop him, he rushed forward, staff aimed at Pitch. Pitch easily created a scythe and swung it to make Jack skid to a stop to avoid getting hit.

"So, you want to fight, Jack? Is that it? Well, since you seem to know her, let her be your sparring partner," Pitch backed up, giving Memory some space. "Stand up and fight, Aoide."

Black shadows tightened around Memory until her stood up on wobbling legs. The shadows became strings on her arms and legs, making her look like a marionette. Her weapon was raised against Jack. Her body was rigid, ready to fight, and while her face was expressionless, everyone who stood in front of her saw her eyes flash in pain and sadness. 

Jack lowered his weapon. "I won't fight you Memory. I can't."

"Well, that's too bad, Frost. Because she will, even if you won't."

Memory rushed forward, her blade aiming for Jack's neck. He blocked it with some ice, and jumped back. 

"Jack, who is she?" North asked.

"Memory. She's the one spirit I met a couple weeks ago." 

"Frost, is she the one that had the leaf?"

"Yeah, why?"

Before Eros could answer, Memory rushed forward again, aiming for Jack. Jack was distracted and couldn't dodge, but he didn't need to. Eros had unsheathed his sword and had blocked Memory's strike. Both were locked in a battle of strength, Memory with the shadows behind her.

"Memory, you have to answer me. You had enchanted the leaves to make them red, right?"

Memory made no indication of hearing Eros as she tried to push his sword away. 

"Open your eyes, child!" Quickly flinging his sword up, Eros grabbed an arrow from his back and plunged it into Memory's arm. With a gasp, she fell to the ground. 

"What did you do?" Jack yelled, and ran towards Memory, but Eros held out his sword and blocked him. 

"I used an arrow that shouldn't hurt her too badly, but snap her out of it." Eros leaned down in front of the little girl, and held her cheek. She was gasping and holding the arrow, a pained expression in her eyes. "Child, look at me."

Memory finally looked up at Eros, as she started to shake in fear again.

"Do you know me?"

Memory blinked several times, but the shadows started to creep up over her shoulders. Eros grabbed her shoulders, making the shadows shrink back for a moment. 

"Concentrate. Who taught you how to make those red leaves?"

Memory's mouth opened and closed, as if she was trying to form a word until the shadows rolled over her, breaking her contact with Eros, and sending her back next to Pitch. 

"Now, I didn't tell you to get hurt, did I? I guess I should fix you before you fight again."

"Not so fast, Pitch! Give her back first!" Jack made to rush forward again, but was blocked by several Nightmares. North and Sandy started fighting through them, but Pitch grabbed Memory, pulled her hood over her head before both were swallowed by a shadow, the Nightmares vanishing quickly after.

Eros was still kneeling on the ground, almost frozen. 

"Eros? What is it?" Tooth asked, floating towards him.

"What did you get from her?" Bunny came forward as well.

"Get from her? What do you mean?" Jack turned around to the group.

"It's a power I have Frost. You made fun snow balls, I have a power where I can read people, even if they can't speak. Memory, as you called her, had most of her mind behind a wall. I would blame Pitch's darkness for that. But I did get one name."

Jack took a few steps towards Eros. "So, what name was it?"

"Did she answer question?" North questioned, sliding his swords back into the sheaths.

"Erato. She learned from Erato."


	3. It Should Be Safe

Back at the North Pole, Jack wouldn't stop pacing back and forth.

"We need to save her. She's just a scared kid!"

"Jack, you need to calm down." Tooth flew over to him and sat him down in a chair. "We will save her, but we need to think things through first."

With a sigh, he sat on the chair, but was still bouncing his leg up and down.

"Fluffwing, could you have made a mistake? She's just a little ankle biter."

"I don't make mistakes, Rabbit. I heard her say the name inside her head, and just for a moment, I saw her again. If I had just a few more seconds, I could have gotten more information."

"But, if she learned from Erato, she would have to be very old."

"Erato died around the year 600. So, this girl, this Memory, would be at least 1400 years old. She might even be older than you, Nickolas."

North looked surprised. "But she looked young. Too young."

"I never aged when I was a God, and I don't now. None of us on Olympus ever aged. The Muses only aged slightly, to match their character more. It's completely possible."

"Pitch said she was asleep for four hundred years. She still had the eyes of a child. A very scared child," Tooth added, sounding solemn for a moment.

"But she's siding with Pitch! She is an enemy!" Bunny suddenly jumped up.

"She isn't! I've spent several days with her, and not once did she try to hurt me!" Jack also jumped up to be at somewhat equal height as Bunny.

"Well, I guess I didn't see her try to spear you with that weapon!"

"She's just scared! She always has been, even of me! Normally, she wouldn't have attacked me. I considered her a friend. She's being controlled by Pitch somehow. I know she is!"

"Frost is right. She is being controlled. Especially when she went for Jack. She didn't want to. Pitch also said something before she attacked. A name. Names have power, especially if you have been alone for as long as she might have been." Eros added, coming between Jack and Bunny.

"I didn't catch the name," Bunny grumbled.

"I think I heard, Aoide?" Tooth looked at Eros.

"If you translate it to modern Greek, it means Vocalist. But it was a name. I vote to save her. She is the only link I have to the past."

"We should save her even if she wasn't someone in your past. She's just a kid."

"Yes, I believe we must save her as well. That's my vote." Jack smiled at Tooth when she agreed with him and Eros. "Sandy?"

The silent man thought for a moment before nodded with a thumbs up.

"And I agree as well. We save the little child." North got up and started to lead the group towards the sleigh.

"Hey, do we even know where Pitch might be? Frostbite, what if this is a trap?"

Jack turned and nearly froze Bunny with his glare. "Would you rather leave a frightened girl with Pitch, basically just feeding him fear?"

Bunny paused before grabbing his boomerang and catching up to North. "Let's go."

 

The darkness always scared Memory. It was her punishment this time though. Pitch put her in the iron cage that hung from the ceiling, the chains made of shadows trapping her to the floor. Sometimes, when Pitch puts her in the cage, Memory is allowed to fly about, as if the cage is her room. But the chains around her wrists and the darkness means that Pitch was furious. Probably not as furious than when she left the cave for the first time without his permission though. His punishment that time was more painful than this.

When the Nightmare told him, he made her wear the black outfit all the time after burning her hands. He had grabbed her hands and pushed her into a fireplace he had lit just for her. In her panic to escape, some of her clothes had gotten singed. She missed her red and teal dress more than the pain from her hand. With a muffled sniffle, Memory tried to move, only to have the wound in her arm sting. She forgot about that. The man that spoke Greek to her. The one that asked and made her remember Erato. She shook her head. It's just a bad dream, nothing more. Too many unknown faces and names floated about her head from her nightmares. 

"Have you learned your lesson?" Pitch's voice echoed around her. She nodded quickly.

The shadows keeping her cage in darkness dissolved, the moonlight finally reaching her. She turned and saw Pitch standing outside the cage. 

"Oh, little lady, that arrow hurt you more than I thought." Pitch unlocked the door and Memory tried to crawl towards him, only the chains were keeping her in place. Pitch kneeled next to her and summoned a cloth with the shadows and slowly cleaned off the dried blood from her arm. When he finished he wrapped it all up in a bandage. 

"There. Can't have my little fear lady stay hurt now. Though if you had been stronger, he wouldn't have landed a hit. "

Memory lowered her head. A clang made her look up again. Pitch had locked the cage again.

"You haven't learned your lesson quite yet. You still need to be punished for leaving the cage again."

Fear filled Memory's eyes, and Pitch took a deep breath. "Some nightmares should work."

Black sand filled Pitch's hand and formed into a ball. Memory tried to crawl farther away. She didn't want the nightmares again. Pitch threw the ball of sand at Memory, who passed out on the floor of her cage. 

 

The scene began again. Many people Memory could no longer remember. They were sick. They were dying. And it was all her fault. If she wasn't there, they wouldn't need to be in pain. She was next to a young man covered in a blanket to the waist. He was in so much pain and sweating. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, carefully wiping off his face with a cloth.

"Aoide? Is that you? I can't see anymore. Can you sing for me? I know my mother won't make it here in time."

Memory felt her mouth move, but she couldn't hear her own voice.

The man laughed and took her hand in his. "I just know she won't be here in time. Your voice is nicer anyway. Can you sing that one song that you were singing when we first met? The one where I scared you by applauding for you for the first time? I like that one."

Tears started streaming down her face and the man frowned. "Don't cry for me. I'm not going to vanish forever. I'll still be in the stars. I'll watch over you, like an older brother would. So please, sing?"

Memory's mouth moved as she sang a song she could no longer hear. Soon, the man stopped moving and his grip on her hand relaxed. Tears came down her face, but she refused to end her song early.

It's all my fault. He would still be alive if I was never born. He wouldn't have had to leave us all.

 

Memory awoke with a start. Her expression hadn't changed, but her cheeks were wet with tears. In the waking world, she didn't know the man she had held in his final moments, but she remembered her thoughts. That his pain was her fault. She hated those nightmares, where it was her fault for the person dying. She looked up and saw the dark sky from her cage. There were constellations flickering up there. She somehow knew the names of all of them, as if she had been taught all those years ago. The one she saw from the opening of the cave was called Sagittarius. Half man and half horse, with a satyr's tail. She reached out slowly towards it. But the clanking of the chains around her wrists stopped her. Slowly, her hand came down to rest in her lap. 

A sudden explosion shook the cage slightly and shocked Memory. She looked down to see a cloud of dust and debris coming from one side of the cave. Pitch materialized in an instant in the center of the cave, waiting patiently for the dust to settle. As it did, the Guardians, plus Eros, where standing there, weapons in hand.

"The Big Five here! How exciting. Oh, and Valentine. How nice of you to visit my humble abode."

"No games Pitch! We're here for Memory!" Jack raised his staff up. "Where is she?"

"She's in a safe place of course. She's valuable to me."

"Release her, Pitchiner."

Pitch glanced up nonchalantly. Jack and Eros followed his gaze to see Memory watching them from above. Shadows appeared next to Pitch, and a second later, Memory was standing next to him again, her hood over her head.

"Why would I release her? She is under my care."

"What care? You don't care for children, all you ever do is scare them!" Bunny held his boomerang up towards Pitch, making Memory shrink behind her captor for a moment.

"I? It seems to me that you scare her." Pitch lifted his hand and put it down on Memory's shaking head.

Bunny lowered his boomerang at the sight of a child frightened of him.

Eros came forward, his hand on his sword. "Pitchiner, duel me. If I win, I'll care for the girl." 

"Now why would I do that? She would never want to go with the man who injured her arm."

Jack glanced and saw the bandage around Memory's arm. 

"Then Jack will care for her."

Jack looked at Eros in surprise. 

"I'll fight you for the girl, and with my win, the girl will go with the Guardians."

"And if you lose?"

"I'll become a fearling for you."

A smile appeared on Pitch's face. A shadow swept over Memory, putting her back into the cage. Pitch brought out his scythe and swung at Eros, who blocked and quickly fought back. 

Jack and Sandy, who had been moving behind North and Bunny, quickly flew into the air towards the cage. Jack quickly froze and broke the lock on the door, and kneeled next to Memory, who was watching with wide eyes.

"Please Memory, come with us. You can be free of Pitch. Free to go and visit the musician and walk outside."

Memory shook her head. Jack sighed. Eros had said on the way over here that Memory might be attached to Pitch, as seen with Stockholm Syndrome. She would refuse to leave, thinking Pitch is there to protect her, all the while, he might be messing with her dreams, making her want to stay in order to get protection from her nightmares.

Eros told Jack and Sandy that even if Memory refuses, that is would be best to get her out of Pitch's grasp. Sandy carefully walked towards Memory, but stopped when he saw the shadow chains still around her wrists. Sandy slowly sent his dream sand to the chains, even as the frightened spirit attached to them tried to get away from the golden sand. The sand touched the chains, melting the shadows away from Memory's wrist. Memory immediately retracted her hands and held them close to her body.

"Please Memory. Let us help you. We will help you."

Memory shook her head, but quickly glanced up at the constellation still hanging in the sky above her. Sandy used the moment when Memory was looking up at the sky to shoot a ball of dream sand at her. Jack caught her before she fell to the floor of the cage, and quickly shifted her comfortably into his arms while still holding his staff.

They floated down, and when Eros saw them, he quickly jumped back, breathing heavily. North and Bunny went in front of him, shielding him from Pitch, who paused when he saw his fear creator in Jack's arms. 

"So, you intended to cheat this whole time."

"Pretty much." 

Pitch smiled, and stepped back with his scythe, surprising everyone. "I know she will come back to me, once she wakes up. I keep her nightmares away. And even if she doesn't, she'll still spread fear. She will do it no matter what. But I trust she will come back."

Bunny threw several eggs at Pitch, who laughed and vanished, sending several Nightmares towards them in his place. Eros and Tooth lead Jack through the tunnels, protecting them from the front, as North, Bunny, and Sandy made up the rear. They took out the Nightmares quickly, and made it back to the sleigh without Memory waking up. 

 

"Someone should be there when she wakes up," Eros suggested as Jack carefully laid Memory down in an empty bedroom in the North Pole. "She will be confused and terrified. She's been with Pitch for too long."

Tooth flew over and carefully tucked in Memory, pulling the blankets over her. "What do you mean? I would think she would want to be away from Pitch."

"I don't know. When she thought of Erato earlier, it wasn't a happy thought. But Erato was the kindest person you could ever meet. Out of all the Muses, she could be your friend in a moment."

"I'll be here when she wakes up. I guess I'm the closest anyway," Jack volunteered himself.

"I'm not leaving you alone, mate. I'll wait with you." Bunny stepped forward as North and Sandy moved to the hall.

"She was terrified of you earlier, Aster. At least wait in the hall with the rest of us." Eros and Tooth were also moving to the hall.

Bunny was about to argue back when Jack hushed both of them. In the bed, Memory stirred. A few moments later, she blinked awake, and with a start, sat up, hugging her black cloak around her in fright. 

"Hey, hey, Memory, calm down, you're safe!" Jack had already put down his staff and had his hands up, trying to calm the shaking girl. He turned to say something to Bunny, when something shot past his head and embedded itself into the wall.

When he turned to face it, he saw it was a small dark blade, like a dagger, inches from his head. Bunny looked up and saw Memory's hand was raised, and another dagger was appearing. He shoved Jack out of the way as a second dagger flew into the wall, this one more aimed at Bunny. 

"Watch it!" 

Bunny's shouted make the girl flinch and she brought both hands up to protect herself, a dagger appearing in front of both hands.

"Stamáta to!"

Memory froze, the daggers also freezing a foot before they hit Eros. They clattered to the ground and faded away, along with the two in the wall. Eros took a slow step forward. When Memory didn't move, he slowly went forward until he was at the bedside, and knelt down. Jack and the rest were watching from the doorway. 

Memory made no movement to put her hands down, and because of that, Memory's sleeves had slid up her arms and all present saw several scars and burns crisscrossing the flesh. Most looked like they were healing, but a burn on her right hand looked relatively recent. Jack was surprised to see the bandage off for once, as it still had angry red burns with healing blisters, probably a second degree when it first occurred. Many of the scars looked like they were created by something cutting into Memory's wrists, like the chains that were around her wrists while she was in the cage.

"Aoide."

Memory flinched, and Eros could see she was breathing heavily from summoning those daggers.

"You don't like that name, do you?"

A glance at Eros, before looking away again.

"Can you tell me why?"

Eros reached out to Memory, but the moment he touched her cloak, she jumped out of the bed and ran to the opposite corner, looking more and more like a frightened and trapped animal. Her fingers pulled the cloak even closer.

Eros slowly stood up and back away, standing next to everyone else again.

"We have an even bigger problem."

"What is it?" North asked.

Eros held out his hand, were several grains of black sand lay. "Her whole cloak is like this. Her entire body is covered in Nightmare Sand."

"Oh my goodness. No wonder she's scared of everything. The Sand messes with her dreams and how she perceives things. That much can even influence her...her memory," Tooth slowly deduced, covering her mouth with her hand. 

"Frost. Stay here with her. See if you can get her to calm down. But keep your staff within reach. I do not want to see you skewered. Everyone else, out." Eros brushed his hand off and lightly pushed everyone else out of the room before closing the door.

"Eros, you have a plan?" North asked, when they were all in the hall.

"Of course I do. Aster, Toothiana? You know how to cook, right?"

"What?" 

"She probably hasn't had a proper Greek dish in a while. You think you can try and make some food for her?"

Tooth looked at the small group of fairies following her. "We can try. What dish are you thinking of?"

"Brown bread and some kind of lentil soup. And if you can't find the ingredients in North's kitchen, just plain bread with fruits. Apples, figs, pomegranates. Those are fruits she should recognize and be comfortable with eating that even North should have. Got it? Toothiana, when you finish, just take it to Frost."

"And what will you be doing while I have to try and cook?" Bunny glared at Eros, who shrugged him off.

"Doing research at the library. If Memory has been around for over 1400 years old, someone should have mentioned something. Noticed something. And I can see what I can learn about manipulating dreams and memories. Sandman, do you know any books that could help me?" North and Sandy led Eros to the large library, where he settled down to begin his research.

 

Jack bent over and picked up his staff from the ground, but instead of holding on to it, he leaned it against the wall behind him. He watched as Memory glanced quickly all around the room. It was large, and very bright. The wall across from the door was almost completely windows, letting in every ounce of light from outside. A desk sat in the corner by the window, so anyone working could just look to their right and see everything outside. The other corner was where Memory was hiding, squished between a large, cushioned chair and the wall. A few feet from her was the bed and nightstands on either side. On the other side of the bed, on the same wall as the door, a large, white wardrobe was sitting. Jack thought it was almost the size of two wardrobes. A bookcase sat a few feet away from the wardrobe, closer to the door, but it was mostly empty. Jack went over to a dresser, that was sitting near the other door in the room, which led to a bathroom. He opened a drawer slowly, and pulled out the colouring book and a larger pouch of colouring pens.

He slowly walked to Memory, and as he did, he saw how heavily she was breathing, from summoning those daggers and then from running to the corner. 

"Calm down, Memory. It's just us, you're safe here. Look, I remembered the colouring book. You can colour without having to worry about anything."

Memory wasn't moving any closer to grab the book and pens, but Jack noticed her breathing wasn't getting any slower.

"Memory, you're breathing too hard. Look, take off the cloak, and you'll cool down faster, and you won't hyperventilate."

She shook her head.

"You used to do it all the time when we hung out. Just for a bit. You can drape it over that chair and be next to it when you colour."

Memory paused. Slowly, she unclipped the cloak from her shoulders and hung it over the chair. Almost instantly, her breathing slowed. She knelt down in the corner by the chair though, making Jack slide the book and pens closer to her across the floor. 

"Are you thirsty? Do you want something to drink?"

Just as Memory reached for the book, she paused at the question, but shook her head. Carefully grabbing the book and some new pens, she turned to a new picture, one of a spiral mandala. Jack watched as she coloured all the little spaces with the upmost care. She favoured the reds and blues, and Jack watched as she began to dig through the bag. 

"What colour are you looking for?"

Memory jumped, seemingly forgetting Jack was there. She looked in the bag again, trying to move all the colours out of the way to look in the bottom.

"You can dump out the colours if you want. Spread out a bit."

Slowly, Jack crawled closer and took the bag and dumped out the pens. The noise made Memory jump a bit and look around in fear.

"Memory, nothing is going to hurt you here. You don't have to be quiet all the time. You can be as loud and childish you want."

Memory didn't respond, except move slowly between the colours. 

"Are you looking for the blue one? From last time? You had it when you vanished with Pitch. Is it in your pouch?"

Memory turned her body and pulled her pouch off of her belt. She dug through it, and Jack heard the sound of coins and other small items she's probably collected over the few years with Pitch. But eventually, Memory pulled a teal pen out of her pouch, a few coins coming out with it. Jack gathered the ones that started to roll away, noticing the coins weren't all perfectly round, and looked like nothing he had ever seen before. 

"Memory, what are these coins?"

Memory looked up and shrugged, but took the coins back from Jack quickly, going back to colouring with her teal pen.

"So, do you like that colour because of your wings and hair?" She shook her head. "Then why?"

Memory turned the colouring page over to the blank side and started sketching, using a very light pen for the skin, and the teal for eyes and long flowing hair that went down the waist, almost to the hips. A black cloak with sleeves covered a long dress that started grey at the top and faded into black. A black belt was around the waist with a teal design as the buckle. And a beautiful, wide, grey necklace made of many layers of beads hung at her collar, before the dress started. She looked down at the picture and went out to touch it before Memory started shaking in fear. Jack pulled the paper away from her and stuck it in his pocket.

"Memory, it’s okay, you're alright. Just keep breathing."

Jack wanted to reach out and reassure Memory, but didn't want her panicking and trying to escape. Thinking fast, he got his tin whistle out of his pocket and started playing for her, hoping to calm her down. And it seemed to work. Memory's breathing slowed and slowly looked back up at Jack, looking into his eyes for the first time. Jack stopped playing and looked at Memory.

"Are you okay?"

Memory's eyes looked clear for the first time, and her mouth tried to form into words, but no sound came out.

"It's fine, you don't need to say anything. I understand."

A few moments pass, and the clarity that was in Memory's eyes vanished, much to Jack's sadness. He thought the clarity she had the other times they were together would return, but it wasn't enough. There was a knock on the door that scared Memory farther behind the chair.

"Who is it?"

The door opened and Tooth flew in with a tray of food. Two bowls and a bottle of water. Bunny stayed in the doorway, just watching. 

"Hey, you're called Memory, right?" Tooth asked, staying on the other side of the bed. "Can I come closer?"

Jack looked over at Memory and handed her his tin whistle. "Tooth is okay. She's a friend."

Memory nodded. Tooth flew closer and landed behind Jack, kneeling on the ground. Jack looked and saw a bowl of soup and a bowl of cut up fruits and vegetables. Tooth took the soup and handed it to Jack, who was close enough to hand it to Memory. Jack tried to hand her a spoon, but Memory shrunk away.

"It's okay. Aren't you hungry?" Memory nodded, but then shook her head. "What is it, you can't?" 

Tooth looked between Jack and Memory. "Memory, it's okay to eat. If you don't want soup, I also have apples, some cucumber, figs, pomegranates, and even bread."

Memory perked up at the names of some of the fruits. Tooth saw it and smiled, holding the bowl of fruits to Memory. She looked as though she really wanted to take some. Jack put the soup bowl on the nightstand and put the fruit bowl closer. 

"You grew up in Greece, right?" Tooth tried to entice Memory to the bowl. "I know that if eaten pomegranate seeds, you would have to stay with Hades, right? If you eat these seeds, you can stay with us instead."

"Is that supposed to make her eat?" Bunny's voice made Memory flinch. "She obviously didn't want to come with us in the first place, so why would she want to stay?"

"Bunny!" Tooth flew over to Bunny and pushed him out of the room. 

Memory went to grab her cloak, but Jack knew he didn't want Memory back in a cloak covered in nightmare sand. He reached over and grabbed a blanket from the bed and draped it across Memory instead. A snow white sheet fit her better than a pitch black cloak. Memory seems surprised by this, but after a few moments, wrapped the sheet tighter around herself. It calmed her, both Tooth and Bunny could see it. 

"Tooth, could you go and get Eros? I need to talk with him, but I don't want to leave Memory."

"Sure," Tooth smiled and pushed Bunny out again and closed the door behind her.

Jack looked back to Memory, who looked more comfortable being covered and hidden. He sat back down, leaning against the bed. He pushed the bowl closer to Memory, who slowly took an apply slice and took a bite, enjoying it. 

"I know you're in there, Memory. I know it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, since the story is all caught up to what I have written, it'll be a few days until I have time to write again. I need to finish the gift I'm working on before I start on the next chapter. I've been getting more ideas, so it shouldn't take too long, maybe a week.
> 
> I mean, I love Memory's story. I can't stay away from it for too long, especially when it gets closer to the climax.
> 
> Also, if you post any comments, I will love you forever, and reply within the day (if I'm not working).


	4. Update on Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now I explain where the next parts are.

So, the chapters are typed out.   
I was in Austria for a month, and I was more focused on family than typing (though I did get five pages on one day when I had no WiFi for a week).  
I am working on typing a bunch later today after movie-time.   
Maybe I can get back to weekly or biweekly updates, now that I have more time. 

As to why I'm not updating now: I'm at work. But no-one is replying to me now on Facebook, so I thought I should update here. 

Any weird autocorrects are my crappy phones fault. 

Again, sorry for a delay on what's going to be a great chapter!


	5. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's back!!  
> I finally got time to go to my laptop, mostly because I finished all my packing for today (another reason I haven't updated is I'm moving out of my apartment at the end of the month and I need to put in my two week notice at work. Yay~...  
> Anyway, enjoy!

"Eros? Where are you?" Tooth went into the large library North had. She flew up to hover over the large bookcases. Sandy flew up from a corner several rows away from her and waved her over. "Eros, do you have a moment?"

Eros was surrounded by what looked like hundreds of books, with North walking back and forth collecting more books for the wall forming around him. "What is it, Toothiana?"

"Jack wants to talk with you. He can't leave Memory, but it seemed urgent."

Eros carefully stretched out his wings and flew up out of his wall of books, and followed Tooth with a few books under his arm. They reached the hallway, where Bunny was still sitting outside the hall, now with a basket of eggs beside him, painting a few. He looked up for a moment before going back to his task. Tooth knocked before opening the door, finding Memory nibbling on the food, looking up and watching Eros warily.

"It's okay, they won't come closer unless you say they can. Oh, Tooth, can I borrow Baby Tooth for a moment?"

Baby Tooth flew out from around the door, with many of her sisters poking their heads around the corner to watch with Bunny. As she flew closer, Memory didn't shrink back as she did with all other newcomers. Baby Tooth landed on Jack's shoulder as he whispered something to her. Baby Tooth nodded, and quickly flew out with all her sisters following her in a swarm. 

"Memory, I need to talk with Eros. You can stay here, but I'll be right back. Will you be okay?"

Memory paused, but gripped Jack's tin whistle closer to her chest. "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

At this time, Baby Tooth and her little swarm came back in, holding a book. They handed it to Jack, and all flew back, except Baby Tooth.

"Here, Memory. This is for you. It's a sketchbook. Just for you."

Memory looked down at the sketchbook. It had a leather hardcover, with a geometric design that looked very similar to a design Jack had seen in Greece the few times he visited. Bunny and Eros watched from the doorway as Memory's hand shook as she reached for the book. She pulled back when she fingertips brushed the cover, as if it burned her. Baby Tooth jumped from Jack's shoulder to the ground and pushed the book towards Memory with a squeak. The book slid under Memory's hand. Her eyes widened and slowly pulled the book towards herself. She looked up at Jack with his whistle in one hand and the book grasped in her other. 

Jack nodded to Baby Tooth. "Baby Tooth will stay here, to keep you company. If you need anything, let her know, and she'll come and get me. I'll be right outside, okay?"

After a few moments, Memory took the tin whistle, and let out a small note, enough to make Jack smile. "There ya go, that's how I'll know. Just sit tight."

Jack quickly walked past Tooth, who was leaning against a far wall to watch and to give directions to the other little faeries as quietly as she could, and went to the hall, where Bunny and Eros were waiting.

"So, what is this news, Frost? I was surrounded by every book that mentions unnamed Spirits or mythology."

"Well, Memory drew someone. I wanted to know if you knew her," Jack pulled the crumpled paper out of his pocket and soothed it out before he gave it to Eros.

When Eros looked at the image on the paper, a myriad of emotions crossed his face. First, it softened, a small smile, almost loving, followed by a longing, sad expression, and when he slowly caressed the outline, he stopped and looked down at his hand, where he toyed for a moment with the ring on his hand. A moment later, his expression had hardened again, becoming his normal neutral.

"She drew this?" 

Jack nodded.

"I need to talk to her."

Eros made to move into the room, but Jack stretched out and blocked him. "You can't! She freaks out when you are near! You stabbed her with an arrow. This won't end well."

"Frostbite has a point. Eros, you can't go in there," Bunny pointed out from his seat. "She tried to skewer all of us, and hides like a frightened animal. I don't know what she went through with Pitch, but it wasn't good."

"Jack, please! I need to know."

Jack looked conflicted. Eros had never called him anything other than his full name or Frost. In his moment of pause, Eros was able to sneak past him and enter the room before he could be stopped.

In the room, Tooth was happily watching Baby Tooth chirp at Memory. Memory was just watching the little bird, her new sketchbook open in her hand with a green pen in her hand. Baby Tooth just chirped away, not moving very much, or moving closer, as Memory would flinch, even at the small bird. Eros was able to get to the other side of the bed before Memory noticed and dropped her pen. Eros sat down a few feet away in and just waited a bit in silence. After a few minutes of this silence, the tension that Memory had faded a bit. Her eyes never left Eros, but never met his eyes either. Eros stretched out his hand and grabbed the pen Memory dropped, holding it out for her. A shaking hand slowly reached out and took it back.

"Memory, will you listen to me?"

Memory didn't jump at Eros's voice, but didn't move at all. 

"You were alive a long time ago, right? Hundreds of years ago. In Greece. Right?"

A small nod. Baby steps.

"Did you see me back then?"

Memory's brow furrowed. As she thought, she grabbed a strand of her longer hair and absentmindedly began pulling on it. After while, she curled into a ball, but nodded as she did.

"Come back out Memory. You're doing great."

Jack was amazed at the progress Eros was making. His voice was softer and gentler than Jack had ever heard.

"Memory, you also saw Mnemosyne, right? You drew her picture."

Another small nod.

"I want you to look at something. Lift your head."

Memory slowly lifted her head out from her arms. Eros slipped his ring off his hand and rolled it to her. After a glance upwards, catching Eros' eye for just a moment, she reached for the ring, and held it up. After examining it for a moment, her eyes widened, and looked up at Eros.

Everyone froze as Memory crawled forward and grabbed Eros' sleeve. She started tugging on it almost frantically. Memory's eyes were clearer than ever before, and her mouth started moving quickly. Eros had to grab her hand before she ripped his sleeve, and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"Slow down! I can't read your lips, you need to speak slower!"

Before Memory could try to speak slower, the black sand that was still attached to her clothes started moving. Eros quickly tried to brush it away, but it kept rustling and moving towards her head. 

"Run! You need to get Sandman! Now!"

Bunny leapt up and bolted down the hallway. Eros was trying to change the black sand back into gold, but it wasn't much he could do without his arrows. Jack couldn't do anything while the sand was still on Memory. Sandy came in barely a few moments later, and rushed towards Memory, and started turning all the sand back to gold. A few of the black grains reached Memory's eyes, and she started swaying.

"No, Memory, don't fall asleep!" 

Memory opened her eyes one more time and was able to mouth one more word before falling asleep in Eros' arms. Sandy kept changing all the sand, until nothing was left. Jack came forward and took Memory in his own arms before moving her to her bed and tucking her in. Tooth came forward as well, and set Memory's sketchbook on the nightstand along with the bag of pens. Jack went to grab his whistle again, but glanced down at Eros, who was still on the ground with his head in his hands.

"Eros? Are you okay? Did you read her again?"

Eros shook his head. "Didn't need to."

"Why? Were you able to read her lips?"

A nod. Eros lifted his head with a deep breath. Jack could see he was holding back tears.

"She was saying 'Mama'. I should have seen it. Mnemosyne is the Goddess of Memory! Mnemosyne is Memory's mother! She made another daughter! She's a relative! Depending on who her father is, she could be my sibling. She could be a Goddess herself."

 

North had called a meeting. Everyone was there except for Sandy, who was charged with getting rid of all the black sand he could find and getting rid of Memory's old cloak. Baby Tooth was on guard duty, watching Memory and getting everyone when she woke back up. Eros was in a chair, still in shock at the new revelation. A cup of eggnog was in front of him, but he hadn't made any motion he noticed. Jack kept looking over worriedly.

"What does this change, Fluffwing? She still needs protection! She's an ankle-biter! Once Sandy gets rid of all that sand, she'll be back to normal, right?"

"We don't know what normal is, Bunny," Jack spoke up. "She's been this way for years."

"Jack's right."

All looked over at Eros, who finally spoke up. His face was unreadable as he played with the ring on his finger once again. 

"Memory has had years of abuse. Both psychological and physical. There's no telling what Pitch did to her. Getting rid of the black sand is a start, but she's been afraid of her past for so long, bringing it up could do more harm than good. Depending on how she reacts when she wakes up, we'll see what to do."

"Maybe we need to bring out inner child," North started. "Make new memories. Make old one less painful."

"We just need to keep going slowly. Maybe one day-," A high pitched noise interrupted Eros. "What the hell is that?"

Jack paused before his eyes widened. "That's my tin whistle. I left it...With Memory."

Eros bolted out of the room towards Memory's with Jack following closely on his heels.


	6. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Memory had woken up slowly. She was somewhere soft and warm. It was nice. If it was a dream, it had been too long since she's had one. Slowly, her eyes opened. That's right. She was in the safe place. Jack brought her here. Sitting up slowly, without putting pressure on her hands, was hard, but she managed. Looking around, she saw the little Tooth Faerie sitting on her sketchbook and the Sandman cleaning up all the black sand. Her cloak was gone. Baby Tooth turned and saw Memory sitting up, and gave a small squeak of greeting. Sandy then turned and gave her a small wave. To her own surprise, she waved back. She pulled back her hand in shock before she realized why she had waved. She wasn't as scared as before. She didn't have a nightmare either. 

Sandy slowly floated forward. He made his sand figures very slowly. >Are You Okay?<

After a second, she nodded. 

>Jack is outside. Shall we go greet him?<

Another nod. Sandy turned around to open the door as Memory slowly turned and dangled her legs off the bed to slide down.

In the moment Sandy had his back turned, a hand came out from the shadows under the bed and grabbed Memory's ankle as she slid off the bed, making her fall down. A gasp came from her throat, alerting Sandy before she hit the floor, but not fast enough as she was slowly being dragged into the shadows. Sandy immediately had his sand whips out, but there wasn't enough of Pitch outside of the shadow to hit. So Sandy grabbed Memory's hand as it reached for him instead. Memory's face was a picture of fear, but with her second hand, she grabbed Jack's whistle and blew as hard as she could, making a high-pitched scream. A few moments later, Eros burst in with his bow drawn and shot into the shadow. Jack followed with his own burst of ice into the shadow. A hiss came from the shadows and Memory was pushed out from the shadow and against the wall with force. Sandy changed most of the sand that was in the shadows back to his own and in a few seconds, the underside of the bed was back to normal.

"Nickolas," Eros turned to face North who finally arrived with Bunny and Tooth. "You need to double check all your wards and check if you have guards posted. Pitch was here, and normally he shouldn't be able to get in."

"I go check with Yetis," North walked out to do damage control.

"Oh my goodness, Memory, are you okay?" Jack and Eros turned to see Tooth floating near Memory, who was curled into a ball on the floor. 

"Memory!" Jack quickly turned and knelt down next to her. As he reached out, he could feel heat coming off her legs. Jack slowly shifted Memory to a sitting position. The smell of burning skin met his nose. On her left ankle, the fabric around her ankle was burning and a hand shape was imprinted around her ankle. "Oh! Memory, can you hear me?"

Memory made no notion that she heard as silent tears streamed down her face. 

"Aster, can you heal?"

Bunny moved closer. "Not like this. I can't see the extent of the injuries."

Eros looked over to Tooth. "Can you change her carefully? In the bathroom. Jack, find a skirt for her. Just something to cover her, go!"

Tooth picked up Memory and carried her to the bathroom with help from Eros, who turned around afterwards. Tooth grabbed a pair of scissors from a first aid kit Baby Tooth grabbed from under the sink. As she cut the fabric up the leg, the complete damage made her start crying. The handprint was blistering and any part of the skin that had gone in the shadows was terribly burnt. She shook her head to clear it and kept cutting away at the scorched fabric. A knock on the door brought Jack in.

"I found a skirt. Do you need help?"

"Just set it here, I got it."

Jack glanced at the wounds before he had to turn away from the sight. In the bedroom again, Bunny had cleared the bed of all extra blankets and just had the bare sheets and pillow. He had gotten a yeti to bring as much first aid as they had. He had gotten a small table to use as workspace. 

"Hey, Frostbite, are you okay?"

"It's so burned. Why would Pitch burn her so badly if he wanted her back?"

"My guess is it wasn't on purpose. Normally, Memory always had on her cloak, it was probably her protection when traveling through shadows. It was only to be enough pain to make her remember who is in charge. I've seen it in abuse before. A twisted form of love," Eros explained to a shell-shocked Jack. "It's wrong, but those who crave power do what they can."

"Someone help me carry her!"

Eros turned to help Tooth pick Memory up from the ground. They carried Memory to the bed, and Bunny moved the skirt up out of the way. 

"I don't even know where to start. The amount of damage is extensive. Frostbite, can you bring down the temperature around her legs down? Just to calm down some of the burning. Very slowly and carefully. Tooth, can I trust on you as help?"

Tooth looked Bunny in the eyes and nodded. "Yes. Tell me what you need."

"Keep an eye on her breathing. If she stops or wakes up, we'll need to know before she's completely conscious. Then, work on slowly cooling down as much of the burns. Frostbite and you need to work together to keep the bandages cool, but not ice. Jack, can you focus on that?"

"It's so much…"

"Frost!" Eros grabbed Jack by the shoulders. "You need to focus on your power! Memory needs to be kept cool! You need to help! She'll be fine as long as you help!"

Jack looked at Memory's face and swallowed down the lump in his throat. "Okay, I'm okay now. I got this." 

Eros gave a smile and patted Jack on the shoulder. "I'm here for back-up or if we need more supplies."

"Alright, I'll start with some magic, but she'll have to most of the healing herself. She needs to fight." Bunny put his paws near the worst burn and started healing.

"You hear that, Memory? You can do this. You need to fight." Eros whispered near Memory's ear as he brushed her nearly dry tears away. 

 

Many hours passed in strained silence. Tooth kept the bandages around the legs cool with help from Jack. Bunny had healed the worst burn and was carefully putting ointment on it. The bandages were kept loose to let in a little bit of air. But Memory hadn't woken up yet. Sandy had stopped by after a while, but said there was no nightmares, just regular sleep. North also stopped by, with clean clothes and a small toy or two for when she wakes up. Both had left soon after arriving to not distract Bunny. Finally, as the sun was close to the horizon, Bunny took a step back and took a deep breath.

"I've done all I can. She's on her own now, and I'm completely spent. I need to head back to the Warren to recharge. She's over the worst of it."

"We'll watch over her. Jack and I will take shifts and let you know when she wakes up. Toothiana, you need to recharge too. You look spent. Go home for a bit, we've got it."

Tooth wiped her hands and sighed. "Okay. I need a good break." She looked down at Memory, and smoothed down her bangs. "She'll pull through."

As Tooth turned to go out the door, Jack raised his hand. "Tooth, can I talk to you for a moment, before you leave?"

"Of course! Come join me outside."

Jack followed Tooth to the globe. She leaned up against the railing and turned to face Jack. "What do you need?"

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

Tooth tried to look at Jack's face, but he had raised his hood. "You were able to help Memory without flinching. I've been around for three hundred years, so I've seen wars and the casualties. But when I saw Memory. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. It's like I was drowning all over again."

"Oh, Jack!" Tooth flitted over and gave Jack the biggest hug she could. Baby Tooth and the other faeries helped hug a shoulder. "It's because she is your friend. You truly care for her. In the past, I tried to help heal my sisters, but I always froze, especially in the beginning. It took a long time for me to think only of the injury and not the person in pain. You need a clear head to help. It takes practice. You did so well. You've done so much for her so far, and you keep helping her. You are her strength, even if she doesn't know yet!" Tooth took Jack's face in her hands.

"Thank you, Tooth. I needed that- Ah, really, now?" Jack moved Tooth's hands away from his face and, more importantly, his mouth. "We were having a moment, Tooth. Don't ruin it with poking!"

"I couldn't help it," Tooth smiled sheepishly. "I'll be back soon, I'll check the wards on my place, catch up on some teeth, and get a really good rest in before I come back."

"Don't worry, we can handle it for a few days, you need sleep," Jack waved Tooth off and slowly headed back to the room. 

Bunny had already headed back to the Warren, a small flower was the sign of that in the hallway. When Jack quietly slipped into the room, he saw Eros cleaning up all the used supplies, putting all the unused supplies on a dresser for later use, if needed. 

"Do you need help?"

"I got it, Frost. You rest first. I'll take the first shift. You used a lot of power so far, you need to recharge as well."

Jack settled into the fluffy armchair by the window. He set his staff nearby and made a small nest with the pillows already on the chair.

"Do you need a blanket?"

"I'll be fine. I don't really get cold."

Jack shifted one last time when Eros whispered something. "Huh, did you say something?"

Eros looked up at Jack. "I wanted to say thank you. For finding Memory. For bringing her back to me. She's family, even if we didn't know until a few hours ago. You never gave up on her. And for that, thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it. Honestly. You being all nice like this is weird."

Eros bundled up an extra blanket and chucked it at Jack's head. "Better?"

Both let out a small, quiet, laugh and went back to their task. Jack closed his eyes, and within moments, was deep asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize greatly for not updating, even though I've had this part typed out since....Well, March...  
> Anyway, it's mostly late because I had to quit my job (that was fun), move out my entire apartment (even more fun), and then move in with my boyfriend's parents (not too bad), and his younger brother and his new girlfriend (the worst).  
> As a note, I don't like that this girlfriend is the reason we had to break lease earlier than we wanted, and now we have to live with her. They've been going out for maybe half a year, are already living together, while my boyfriend and I have been going out for eight years (with marriage and house plans on the horizon), two and a half of those years were us having our own place, doing own taxes, and all that.  
> So, we were done at the end of May, and we finally finished unpacking our bedroom and most of the basement at the end of June. Then came the two parties, birthday, Ren faire, and girl's weekend beach escape all so far in July. I only now got my laptop in the basement....and we have Netflix....  
> I'll try to get back in my writing groove as I am unemployed at this time (I do a lot of cleaning and gardening, especially cleaning the windows I can reach without a ladder). I am also working on a hobby of knitting right now, so I'm doing many things at once.  
> I'll try and get back into the groove before we get our new kittens! (Oh yes, that's on our list as well, probably start looking in a month or so)


End file.
